WASHINGTON, D.C.—On the eve of what is considered to be one of the tightest races for the presidency of the United States, the Philippine Embassy called on qualified Filipino-Americans to go out and exercise their right to choose their next leader.

“The United States is host to the largest concentration of Filipinos outside the Philippines and Filipinos are the second largest ethnic group in America,” Ambassador Jose L. Cuisia, Jr. said in a statement released today by the Embassy.

“Let us use these numbers and play a bigger role in shaping the political, economic and social discourse in this country,” Ambassador Cuisia said as he also echoed Malacañang’s statement that the Philippines will work with whoever wins the elections to further strengthen the relations between Manila and Washington.

Ambassador Cuisia issued the statement hours before Americans begin trooping to polling precincts nationwide to decide whether to keep incumbent Democratic President Barack Obama in the White House or to have him replaced by his Republican challenger, Massachusetts Gov. Mick Romney.

Based on the 2010 US Census, there are an estimated 3.5 million Filipinos based in the US, most of them in the West Coast, particularly in California. A survey by the the National Asian American Survey (Naas) show that among Asian-Americans, Filipino-Americans are the ones most likely to go out and vote. They thus represent a significant voting population, according to the Filipino envoy.

“We are counting on you to help make this happen by making sure that you take part in tomorrow’s electoral exercise,” Ambassador Cuisia said as he also rallied Filipino-Americans to support their kababayans who are running for other national and local positions.

According to reports, at least two Filipino-Americans are running for seats in the US House of Representatives. They are Dr. Marisha Agana, a Republican who is eyeing the seat for the 13th District of Ohio and incumbent Democrat Rep. Robert Scott who is running for an 11th term as representative of the Third District of Virginia.

Fifteen other Filipino-Americans are vying for state legislative seats in California, Pennsylvania and Hawaii. They are Alameda Vice Mayor Rob Bonta (18th District); Chris Mateo (12th District) and Jennifer Ong (20th District), all Democrats who are aspiring for seats in the California State Assembly; Will Sylianteng (151st District), a Democrat seeking a seat in the Pennsylvania State House;

Former Hawaii Gov. Ben Cayetano, the first Filipino-American governor in the US, is a strong contender for mayor of Honolulu while Kymberly Marcos Pine, Joey Manahan and Ron Menor are aspiring for seats in Honolulu’s City Council. Also running are Greggor Ilagan (4th District) and Chelsea Yagong (1st District) for seats in the Hawaii County Council and Don Guzman for a seat in the Maui County Council.

In California, Jose Esteves is running for mayor of the City of Milpitas; Garry Barbadillo for a seat in the Milpitas City Council; Jim Navarro for a seat in the Union City Council; Hermy Almonte for a seat in the San Leandro City Council; and Stewart Chen for a seat in the Alameda City Council.